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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

Well, the first contact was through Piano-Mart. And then lots of phonecalls and e-mails. And then my tech did his own investigating for techs, and contacted the President of the San Diego chapter, and asked him if he could use anyone for the job, regardless of price, who would he use? And he named the piano tech for the San Diego Symphony.

And then more negotiating with him. Seemed like he knew his stuff (I had my tech call him.) The piano owner was a professional who was going to Czech Republic to make a recording, and while there, she was buying a new 9' Petrof. Then I checked HER out, and the tale turned out to be true.

What else is there? Oh, we DIDN'T negotiate on price -- her price was a very, very fair one.

On size -- we thought we were going under 6' as well. But we had heard AAs in New York, and the size did seem to make a difference, so we spent time with the measuring tape. Threw out a couch, and moved a bunch of furniture. :p

Ariel, so sorry! My parents bought me a new Yamaha U3 to replace the ancient Sohmer upright I had started learning on. I was in heaven! That piano got me well into my 20s, when I moved out, and my younger brother started taking lessons on it; my parents still have it and it is loved and enjoyed by the grandchildren. The point of my post was to suggest that Bela take his daughter's feelings into consideration. She may be becoming frustrated with the limitations of her upright, or she may actually adore it as much as I adored my Sohmer until it finally really gave out.

She is planning to be a piano major in 3 years. I am kind of pushing her[/b] towards her Masters.

Let's back up then, and ask the question: Have you also kind of pushed her towards a major in piano, or is this something she's independently committed to, heart and soul?

I agree with the wisdom of advancing expeditiously to an MA, but my reasoning is to look at the big picture: pursuing a career in piano will be a difficult road to travel. Look in the Sunday job classifieds, under "Professional." Not many firms are seeking professional pianists these days.

If you have 20K available to buy your daughter a grand, then do this: take her to 4 or 5 piano showrooms and let her try out as many grands in that price range as she can find.

Then let her choose, whether to buy or not, and which piano to buy. But make it perfectly clear that if you buy her the piano, she is in no way obligated to enter college as a piano major, and she'll have your support regardless of her decision. As Deborah asks, "At 15, did you know what you were going to study in college? "[/b]

Check out the forum on "Used Baldwins". Scotte found a 5'9" Baldwin R, in fine playing condition (checked out by his tech) for $4,500 asking (might go for less.) (And if Scotte ever needs to sell it, he's almost sure to get his $4,500 back - or more!) There are plenty of such pianos out there -- just have to look.

I had a friend in high school who was a fantastic pianist. He won every competition he entered (well, almost), played many recitals, and even performed Beethoven's 1st piano concerto with the community orchestra when he was in 10th grade. He was accepted into the music program of a major university and I believe he eventually earned his doctorate.

Guess what he had at home to practice on? An old Wurlitzer upright. I couldn't believe my eyes the first time I saw it, but sure enough that's what he practiced on.

Ryan

Thanks for that post Ryan. I find that reassuring. It seems daunting when I hear it said that you can never really develop until you play a really expensive piano. Regardless of what resources you have if the passion is there then you WILL develop. I don't doubt that it is easier to develop piano skills if you have an excellent piano to work with, but it always seemed to me to hint of snobbery to say one will not develop if they have an inferior instrument.

Vid!!!! How the heck have you been? Haven't seen you 'round these parts in eons! So glad to see you back! Tough luck that the "musical flat" didn't quite pan out. What have you been up to in the meanwhile?

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Sacred cows make the best hamburger. - Clemens

Hey Matt, its good to be back. I've been immersed in the study of computer science for the past 8 months and its only recently that I've had time to indulge in other pursuits such as reading these forums.

The musical house I was living in turned out to be a disaster so I'm on my own now and have bought a digital piano. It has been worth it because I can play it whenever I want and nobody can complain about it. I don't think it is hurting my technique that much because I can still play regular pianos fine.

Hi Vid! Good to hear from you. You caught my point exactly - desire and love for music outweigh the grand vs. upright issue. My friend wasn't the only person I knew who had less than stellar pianos to practice on. I didn't have great pianos (Baldwin spinet follows by an early 90's Wurlitzer baby grand followed by crappy college practice room pianos). I am back in music school and I practice on a vertical at home (albeit a high quality vertical ). This semester (my first) I was convinced that I had to upgrade to a grand immediately, but after spending a semester getting my fingers back under me and learning new techniques I finally decided that there wasn't any rush. My vertical is just fine, has a great touch and a pleasing tone. The piano that replaces it is going to have to be stellar. Anyway, I have found that technique and musicianship are technique and musicianship, regardless of the specific instrument you play. And a brand new grand piano cannot replace desire and love of music.

"Bela" I would say that if you can at all afford to buy her a grand piano.. preferably a higher end one, then it can make all the difference in the world. Most people don't realize how an inferior instrument restricts a developing musician. Now I am not saying run right out and buy her a Bechstein...but what I am saying is that perhaps you should... if it is within your budget of course.. start shopping for a good grand piano for her to come home to.

To answer your question directly... provided that the Yamaha you have now is in descent shape and is cared for properly is should last for 3 more years easily.